Reduced volume processing chamber

ABSTRACT

Embodiments described herein generally relate to a processing chamber having a reduced volume for performing supercritical drying processes or other phase transition processes. The chamber includes a substrate support moveably disposed on a first track and a door moveably disposed on a second track. The substrate support and door may be configured to move independently of one another and the chamber may be configured to minimize vertical movement of the substrate within the chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/268,173, filed Sep. 16, 2016, which application claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/236,914, filed Oct. 4,2015, each of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to supercriticaldrying apparatus. More specifically, embodiments described herein relateto a reduced volume processing chamber.

Description of the Related Art

In the cleaning of semiconductor devices, it is often desirable toremove liquid and solid contaminants from surfaces of a substrate, thusleaving clean surfaces. Wet cleaning processes generally involve the useof cleaning liquids, such as aqueous cleaning solutions. After wetcleaning the substrate, it is often desirable to remove the cleaningliquid from the surface of the substrate in a cleaning chamber.

Most current wet cleaning techniques utilize a liquid spraying orimmersion step to clean the substrate. Drying of the substrate that hashigh aspect ratio features or low-k materials which have voids or poresis very challenging subsequent to the application of a cleaning liquid.Capillary forces of the cleaning liquid often cause deformation ofmaterials in these structures which can create undesired stiction, whichcan damage the semiconductor substrate in addition to leaving residue onthe substrate from the cleaning solution utilized. The aforementioneddrawbacks are especially apparent on substrates with high-aspect-ratiosemiconductor device structures during subsequent drying of thesubstrate. Line stiction, or line collapse, results from bending of theside walls, which form the high-aspect-ratio trench or via, towards eachother due to capillary pressure across the liquid-air interface over theliquid trapped in the trench or via during the wet cleaning process(es).Features with narrow line width and high-aspect-ratios are especiallysusceptible to the difference in surface tension created betweenliquid-air and liquid-wall interfaces due to capillary pressure, whichis also sometimes referred to as capillary force. Current workabledrying practices are facing a steeply rising challenge in preventingline stiction as a result of rapid device scaling advancements.

As a result, there is a need in the art for improved apparatus forperforming supercritical drying processes.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus is provided. Theapparatus includes a processing chamber body having a liner defining aprocessing volume and an insulation element formed in the chamber body.A door may be slidably coupled to a first track and the door may beconfigured to move relative to the chamber body. A substrate support maybe slidably coupled to a second track and the substrate may beconfigured to move independently of the door.

In another embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus is provided. Theapparatus includes a chamber body having an opening formed therein andthe opening provides ingress and egress from a processing volume definedby a liner of the chamber body. A baffle plate may be disposed withinthe processing volume and the baffle plate may be coupled to an actuatorconfigured to move the baffle plate within the processing volume. A doormay be slidably coupled to a first track and the door may be configuredto translate between an open position and a closed position. A substratesupport may be slidably coupled to a second track and the substratesupport may be configured to translate between a first position outsideof the processing volume and a second position inside the processingvolume. The substrate support may also be configured to moveindependently of the door.

In yet another embodiment, a substrate processing method is provided.The method includes positioning a door in an open orientation relativeto a chamber body and positioning a substrate support in an openorientation relative to the chamber body. A substrate may be positionedon the substrate support and a baffle plate may be positioned over thesubstrate disposed on the substrate support. The substrate support maybe slid into the chamber body and the door may be slid to abut thechamber body. The sliding of the substrate support and the sliding ofthe door may be performed independently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlyexemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting ofits scope, may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates the effect of stiction created between featuresformed on a semiconductor substrate according to embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 2A illustrates a plan view of processing apparatus according to oneembodiment described herein.

FIG. 2B illustrates a plan view of a processing apparatus according toone embodiment described herein.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a reducedvolume processing chamber according to one embodiment described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the reduced volume processingchamber according to one embodiment described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of oneembodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments withoutfurther recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments provided herein. However, it will beevident to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, specificapparatus structures have not been described so as not to obscureembodiments described. The following description and figures areillustrative of the embodiments and are not to be construed as limitingthe disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view that illustrates a portion ofa semiconductor device 100 in which line stiction has occurred betweentwo features within the semiconductor device 100. As shown, the highaspect ratio device structures are formed on a surface of a substrate.During processing, device structures 102 should remain in a verticalorientation and walls 106 should not cross the openings 104 and contactadjacent walls 106 of the device structures 102. When the semiconductordevice 100 is being dried after being cleaned with wet chemistries, thewalls 106 of the device structures 102 are subjected to capillary forcesdue to the air-liquid interface created by the cleaning liquid disposedwithin the opening 104, which causes the walls 106 of adjacent devicestructures 102 to bend towards one another and contact each other. Linestiction results from the contact between walls 106 of adjacent devicestructures 102, ultimately causing closure of the openings 104. Linestiction is generally undesirable because it prevents access to theopenings 104 during subsequent substrate processing steps, such asfurther deposition steps.

To prevent line stiction, a substrate may be exposed to an aqueouscleaning solution, such as de-ionized water or cleaning chemicals, in awet clean chamber. Such a substrate includes a semiconductor substratehaving electronic devices disposed or formed thereon. The use of theaqueous cleaning solutions on the substrate in a wet clean chamberremoves residues left on the substrate after the wet cleaning processeshave been performed. In some configurations, the wet clean chamber maybe a single wafer cleaning chamber and/or a horizontal spinning chamber.Additionally, the wet clean chamber may have a megasonic plate adaptedto generate acoustic energy directed onto the non-device side of thesubstrate.

After wet cleaning the substrate, the substrate may be transferred to asolvent exchange chamber to displace any previously used aqueouscleaning solutions used in the wet clean chamber. The substrate may thenbe transferred to a supercritical fluid chamber for further cleaning anddrying steps to be performed on the substrate. In one embodiment, dryingthe substrate may involve the delivery of a supercritical fluid to asurface of the substrate. A drying gas may be selected to transitioninto a supercritical state when subjected to certain pressure andtemperature configurations that are achieved or maintained in thesupercritical processing chamber. One example of such a drying gasincludes carbon dioxide (CO₂). Since supercritical CO₂ is asupercritical gas, it has no surface tension in that its surface tensionis similar to a gas, but has densities that are similar to a liquid.Supercritical CO₂ has a critical point at a pressure of about 73.0 atmand a temperature of about 31.1° C. One unique property of asupercritical fluid, such as CO₂, is that condensation will not occur atany pressure above the supercritical pressure and temperatures above thesupercritical point (e.g., 31.1° C. and 73 atm for CO₂). Criticaltemperature and critical pressure parameters of a processingenvironment, such as a processing chamber, influence the supercriticalstate of the CO₂ drying gas.

The supercritical fluid, due to its unique properties, may penetratesubstantially all pores or voids in the substrate and remove anyremaining liquids or particles that may be present in the openings 104.In one embodiment, after the supercritical processing has proceeded fora desired period of time to remove particles and residues, the pressureof the chamber is decreased at a nearly constant temperature, allowingthe supercritical fluid to transition directly to a gaseous phase withinthe openings 104. Liquids typically present in the openings 104 prior tosupercritical fluid treatment may be displacement solvents from thesolvent exchange chamber. Particles typically present in the openings104 may be any solid particulate matter, such as organic species (i.e.,carbon), inorganic species (i.e. silicon), and/or metals. Examples ofopenings 104 that may be dried by supercritical fluid include voids orpores in a dielectric layer, voids or pores in a low-k dielectricmaterial, and other types of gaps in the substrate that may trapcleaning fluids and particles. Moreover, supercritical drying mayprevent line stiction by bypassing the liquid state during phasetransition and eliminating capillary forces created between the walls106 of the device structures 102 due to the negligible surface tensionof supercritical fluid, such as supercritical CO₂.

The substrate may then be transferred from the supercritical fluidchamber to a post processing chamber. The post processing chamber may bea plasma processing chamber, in which contaminants that may be presenton the substrate may be removed. Post processing the substrate may alsofurther release any line stiction present in the device structures. Theprocesses described herein are useful for cleaning device structureshaving high aspect ratios, such as aspect ratios of about 10:1 orgreater, 20:1 or greater, or 30:1 or greater. In certain embodiments,the processes described herein are useful for cleaning 3D/vertical NANDflash device structures.

FIG. 2A illustrates a substrate processing apparatus that may be adaptedto perform one or more of the operations described above, according toone embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, theprocessing apparatus 200 comprises a wet clean chamber 201, a solventexchange chamber 202, a supercritical fluid chamber 203, a postprocessing chamber 204, a transfer chamber 206, and a wet robot 208.Processing a substrate may include, but is not limited to, formingelectrical devices such as transistors, capacitors, or resistors, thatare interconnected by metal lines, which are insulated by interlayerdielectrics upon the substrate. These processes may include cleaning thesubstrate, cleaning films formed on the substrate, drying the substrate,and drying films formed on the substrate. In another embodiment, theprocessing apparatus 200 includes an inspection chamber 205, which mayinclude tools (not shown) to inspect substrates that have been processedin the processing apparatus 200.

In one embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 200 is a clustertool comprising several substrate processing chambers, such as the wetclean chamber 201, the solvent exchange chamber 202, the supercriticalfluid chamber 203, the post processing chamber 204, and the transferchamber 206. The chambers 201, 202, 203, 204 may be positioned about thewet robot 208 which may be disposed in the transfer chamber 206. The wetrobot 208 comprises a motor, a base, an arm, and an end effector 209configured to transfer substrates between the chambers. Optionally, thewet robot 208 may have multiple arms and multiple end effectors toincrease the throughput of the processing apparatus 200. In oneembodiment, the wet robot 208 transfers substrates between theaforementioned chambers. In another embodiment, at least one of the endeffectors of the wet robot 208 is a dedicated dry end effector (e.g.,adapted to handle dry wafers) and at least one of the end effectors ofthe wet robot 208 is a dedicated wet end effector (e.g., adapted tohandle wet wafers). The dedicated dry end effector may be used totransfer substrates between the supercritical fluid chamber 203 and thepost processing chamber 204.

The processing apparatus 200 also comprises a dry robot 216 disposed ina factory interface 218 which may be coupled to the processing apparatus200 and a plurality of substrate cassettes 212 and 214, each holding aplurality of substrates to be cleaned or dried, or that have beencleaned or dried. The dry robot 216 may be configured to transfersubstrates between the cassettes 212 and 214 and the wet clean chamber201 and post processing chamber 204. In another embodiment, the dryrobot 216 may be configured to transfer substrates between thesupercritical fluid chamber 203 and the post processing chamber 204. Theprocessing chambers within the processing apparatus 200 may be placed ona horizontal platform which houses the substrate transfer chamber 206.In another embodiment, a portion of the platform may be oriented in aposition other than a horizontal orientation (See FIG. 4).

In an alternate embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, the processingapparatus 200A may be a linear apparatus comprising several substrateprocessing chambers such as the wet clean chamber 201, the solventexchange chamber 202, the supercritical fluid chamber 203, the postprocessing chamber 204, and the transfer chamber 206. For example, theprocessing apparatus 200A may be the Raider® GT available from AppliedMaterials, Santa Clara, Calif., however it is contemplated that otherprocessing apparatuses from other manufacturers may be adapted toperform the embodiments described herein.

The chambers 201, 202, 203, 204 may be positioned about a robot 208Awhich may be disposed in the transfer chamber 206. The robot 208Acomprises a motor, a base, an arm, and end effectors 209A and 209Bconfigured to transfer substrates between the chambers. The robot 208Amay have multiple arms and multiple end effectors to increase thethroughput of the processing apparatus 200A. In one embodiment, therobot 208A, having a dedicated wet end effector 209A, transferssubstrates between the aforementioned chambers. The processing apparatus200A may also comprise a factory interface 218 which may be coupled tothe processing apparatus 200 and a plurality of substrate cassettes 212and 214, each holding a plurality of substrates to be cleaned or dried,or that have been cleaned or dried. The robot 208A having the dedicateddry end effector 209B, transfers substrates between the cassettes 212and 214 and the wet clean chamber 201 and post processing chamber 204.In one embodiment, the dedicated dry end effector 209B may be configuredto transfer substrates between the supercritical fluid chamber 203 andthe post processing chamber 204. The chambers within the processingapparatus 200A may be placed on a horizontal platform which houses thesubstrate transfer chamber 206. In another embodiment, a portion of theplatform may be oriented in a position other than a horizontalorientation (See FIG. 4).

In some configurations of the processing apparatus 200A, the robot 208Amay travel along a linear track 220. Chambers may be arranged insequence on one or both sides of the linear track 220. To perform wetsubstrate transfer, excess liquid may be remove from the substrate, suchas by rotating the substrate, while still in the chamber so only a thinwet layer remains on the substrate surface before the robot 208Atransfers the substrate. In embodiments providing two or more endeffectors on the robot 208A, at least one may be dedicated to wetsubstrate transfer and the other one may be dedicated to dry substratetransfer. More chambers may be installed in the extendable linearconfiguration for high-volume production.

The configurations referred to in the previous embodiments greatlyreduce design complexities of each chamber, enable queue time controlbetween sensitive process steps, and optimize throughput in continuousproduction with adjustable chamber module count to equalize processduration of each processing operation.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a reducedvolume processing chamber 300 according to one embodiment describedherein. In certain embodiments, the chamber 300 may be implemented asthe chamber 203 described with regard to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. Generally,the chamber 300 is configured to withstand pressurization suitable forgeneration and/or maintenance of a supercritical fluid therein. Thechamber 300 may also be advantageously cycled within a temperature rangesuitable for performing phase transitions.

The chamber 300 includes a body 302, a liner 318, and an insulationelement 316. The body 302 and the liner 318 generally define aprocessing volume 312. The body 302 may be configured to withstandpressures suitable for generating a supercritical fluid within theprocessing volume 312. For example, the body may be suitable forwithstanding pressures of about 100 bar or greater. Suitable materialsfor the body 302 include stainless steel, aluminum, or other highstrength metallic materials. The liner 318 may also be formed frommaterials similar to the body 302. In one embodiment, the liner 318 andthe body 302 may be a unitary apparatus. In another embodiment, theliner 318 and the body 302 may be separate apparatus coupled together.

The liner 318, at regions adjacent the processing volume 312, may have athickness 344 of between about 2 mm and about 5 mm, such as about 3 mm.The relatively minimal amount of material comprising the liner 318compared to the body 302 causes the liner 318 to have a small thermalmass relative to the thermal mass of the body 302. Accordingly,temperature changes within the processing volume 312 may be made in amore efficient manner as the temperature of the processing volume 312 isinfluenced predominantly by the liner 318, rather than the body 302. Inone embodiment, a processing environment within the processing volume312 may be cycled between about 20° C. and about 50° C. in an amount oftime less than about 5 minutes, for example less than about 1 minute. Inone embodiment, the processing volume 312 may be cycled between about20° C. and about 50° C. in about 30 seconds.

The insulation element 316 is generally disposed within the body 302adjacent the liner 318. In the illustrated embodiment, the insulationelement 316 may be multiple apparatus. The insulation element 316 maygeneral extend along a long axis of the processing volume 312 to furtherreduce the thermal mass of the liner 318 by insulating the liner 318from the body 302. The insulation element 316 may be formed form amaterial suitable for use in a high pressure environment which has acoefficient of thermal expansion similar to the coefficient of thermalexpansion for the materials utilized for the body 302 and the liner 318.In one embodiment, the insulation element 316 may be a ceramic material.Various examples of ceramic materials include aluminum oxide, aluminumnitride, silicon carbide, and the like. A thickness 346 of theinsulation element 316 may be between about 0.1 inches and about 1.0inch, such as about 0.5 inches.

The processing volume 312 has a volume of less than about 2 liters, forexample, about 1 liter. A distance 348 spanning the processing volume312 between the liner 318 may be less than about 5 cm, such as less thanabout 2 cm, for example, about 1 cm. In various embodiments, theprocessing volume 312 may be filled with various liquids, gases, and/orsupercritical fluids depending on the conditions in the processingvolume 312. In one embodiment, the processing volume 312 may be coupledto one or more solvent sources 320, 332, 336. A first solvent source 320may be coupled to the processing volume 312 via a first conduit 322through a top of the body 302. A second solvent source 332 maybe coupledto the processing volume 312 via a second conduit 334 through a sidewallof the body 302. A third solvent source 336 may be coupled to theprocessing volume 312 via a third conduit 338 through a bottom of thebody 302. The solvent sources 320, 332, 336 may be configured to providesolvents to the processing volume from various entry ports, dependingupon desired solvent introduction characteristics.

Suitable solvents which may be supplied to the processing volume 312from the solvent sources 320, 332, 336 include acetone, isopropylalcohol, ethanol, methanol, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-Methylformamide,1,3-Dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, dimethylacetamide, and dimethylsulfoxide, among others. Generally the solvent may be selected such thatthe solvent is miscible with liquid CO₂.

A first fluid source 324 may be coupled to the processing volume 312 viafourth conduit 326 through the top of the body 302. The first fluidsource 324 is generally configured to provide a liquid or supercriticalfluid to the processing volume 312. In one embodiment, the first fluidsource 324 may be configured to deliver supercritical CO₂. In anotherembodiment, the fluid source 324 may be configured to deliversupercritical CO₂ to the processing volume 312. In this embodiment,heating apparatus and pressurization apparatus may be coupled to thefourth conduit 326 to facilitate phase transition of liquid CO₂ tosupercritical CO₂ prior to entry into the processing volume 312. Asecond fluid source 356 may be similarly configured to the first fluidsource 324. However, the second fluid source 356 may be coupled to theprocessing volume via a fifth conduit 358 through the bottom of the body302. Delivery of liquid CO₂ and/or supercritical CO₂ may be selectedfrom a top down (first fluid source 324) or bottom up (second fluidsource 356) scheme, depending upon desired processing characteristics.

In operation, temperature of the processing volume 312 may becontrolled, at least in part, by the temperature of the CO₂ provided tothe processing volume 312. Additionally, liquid CO₂ and/or supercriticalCO₂ may be provided to the processing volume 312 in an amount such thatthe entire processing volume is exchanged between about 1 time and about5 times, for example, about 3 times. It is believed that repetitiveprocessing volume turnover may facilitate solvent mixing with the CO₂prior to formation of and/or delivery of supercritical CO₂ to theprocessing volume 312 during subsequent supercritical drying operations.To facilitate turnover and removal of fluids and gases from theprocessing volume 312, the processing volume 312 may be coupled to afluid outlet 340 via a sixth conduit 342.

The chamber 300 also includes a substrate support 306 which may becoupled to a door 304 and a baffle plate 310 may be movably disposedwithin the processing volume 312. In one embodiment, the substratesupport 306 and the door 304 may be a unitary apparatus. In anotherembodiment, the substrate 306 may be removably coupled to the door 304and may move independently of the door 304. The door 304 and thesubstrate support 306 may be formed from various materials, includingstainless steel, aluminum, ceramic material, polymeric materials orcombinations thereof. The substrate support 306 may also have a heatingelement 354 disposed therein. The heating element 354 may be a resistiveheater in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the heating element 354may be a fluid filled channel formed in the substrate support 306. Theheating element 354 may be configured to heat the processing volume 312to facilitate formation or maintenance of a supercritical fluid in theprocessing volume 312.

In operation, the substrate support 306 may enter the processing volume312 via an opening formed in the body 302 and the door 304 may beconfigured to abut the body 302 when the substrate support 306 ispositioned within the processing volume 312. In one embodiment, thesubstrate support 306 is configured to move laterally. As a result, thedistance 348 may be minimized because vertical movement of the substratesupport 306 within the processing volume 312 is unnecessary. A seal 352,such as an o-ring or the like, may be coupled to the body 302 and theseal 352 may be formed from an elastomeric material, such as a polymericmaterial. Generally, the door 304 may be secured to the body 302 duringprocessing via coupling apparatus (not shown), such as bolts or thelike, with sufficient force to withstand a high pressure environmentsuitable to forming or maintaining a supercritical fluid in theprocessing volume 312.

The baffle plate 310 may be formed from various materials, includingstainless steel, aluminum, ceramic materials, quartz materials, siliconcontaining materials, or other suitably configured materials. The baffleplate 310 may be coupled to an actuator 330 configured to move thebaffle plate 310 towards and away from the substrate support 306. Theactuator 330 may be coupled to a power source 328, such as an electricalpower source to facilitate movement of the baffle plate 310 within theprocessing volume 312.

A substrate 308 may be positioned on the substrate support 306 duringprocessing. In one embodiment, a device side 314 of the substrate 308may be positioned adjacent to the substrate support 306 such that thedevice side 314 faces away from the baffle plate 310. In operation, thebaffle plate 310 may be in a raised position when the substrate 308 isbeing positioned within the processing volume 312. The baffle plate 310may be lowered via the actuator 330 to a processing position in closeproximity with the substrate 308 during processing. After processing,the baffle plate 310 may be raised and the substrate support 306 mayremove the substrate 308 from the processing volume 312 through theopening 350 in the body 302. It is believed that by positioning thebaffle plate 310 in close proximity with the substrate 308 and thesubstrate support 306, particle deposition on the device side 314 of thesubstrate 308 may be reduced or eliminated during introduction ofsolvents and/or liquid/supercritical CO₂ to the processing volume 312.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the chamber 300 according toembodiments described herein. In the illustrated embodiment, the door304 is disposed in a position separated from the body 302. In thisposition, the substrate support 306 may receive a substrate from arobot, such as the robot 208A. The substrate (not shown) may bepositioned on a support plate 430 configured to support the device sideof the substrate. In operation, once the substrate has been positionedon the support plate 430 of the substrate support 306, the door 304and/or the substrate support 306 may translate laterally towards thebody 302. As described above, the substrate support 306 may moveindependently of the door 304 in certain embodiments. The substratesupport 306 may move through the opening 350 and the door 304 may moveto a position in contact with sidewall 432 of the body 302. The seal 352may be coupled to the substrate support 306 in one embodiment or to asurface of the door 304 which abuts the sidewall 432 in a closedposition. Although not shown, the seal 352 may also be coupled to thesidewall 432.

The door 304 generally includes a first portion 416 and a second portion418. The first portion 416 may be configured to abut and contact thesidewall 432 in the closed position. The second portion 418 may extendfrom first portion 416 is a direction perpendicular to the first portion416. A distance between the second portions 418 may be greater than awidth of the sidewall 432 such that the second portions 418 are disposedadjacent sidewalls 434 when the door 304 is in the closed position. Oneor more coupling elements 420, such as bolts or the like, may extendfrom each of the second portions 418. The coupling elements 420 may beconfigured to interface with a coupling body 422 which is disposed onthe body 302. In one embodiment, the coupling body 422 is an extensionof the body 302 such that the body 302 and the coupling body 422 are aunitary apparatus. In another embodiment the coupling body 422 may be aseparate apparatus coupled to the body 302.

The coupling body 422 may include one or more holes 424 formed thereinsized to accommodate insertion of the coupling elements 420 into theholes 424. In one embodiment, the holes 424 may extend through thecoupling body 422 from a first surface 436 of the coupling body 422 to asecond surface 438 of the coupling body 422. One or more fasteners 426,such as nuts or the like, may be coupled to the second surface 438. Inone embodiment, the fasteners 426 may be coupled to an actuator 428configured to secure the fasteners 426 to the coupling elements 420 whenthe coupling elements 420 are disposed within the holes 424. Thecoupling elements 420 and the fasteners 426 may be formed from materialssimilar to the materials utilized to manufacture the body 302 and thedoor 304. Generally, the coupling elements 420, the coupling body 422,and the fasteners 426 form a pressure closure to urge the door 304against the body 302 with sufficient force to maintain an elevatedpressure, such as about 100 bar or greater, within the processing volume312.

The substrate support 306 may be coupled to a bracket 410 slidablydisposed on a first track 406. In one embodiment, the bracket 410 mayinclude various translation elements (not shown), such as ball bearingsor the like, configured to move laterally along a length of the firsttrack 406. In another embodiment, the translation elements may becoupled to the first track 406 and the bracket 410 may be configured toslidably interface with the first track 406. The first track 406 mayenable the substrate support 306 to move independently of the door 304.As such, a motor 414 may be coupled to the bracket 410 and the motor 414may coordinate movement of the bracket 410 along the first track 406.

The door 304 may be coupled to one or more slider assemblies 412disposed on one or more second tracks 408. In one embodiment, two secondtracks 408 may be disposed adjacent the first track 406. Generally, thefirst track 406 and the second tracks 408 may be coupled to a firstplatform 402. Similar to the bracket 410, the slider assemblies 412 mayinclude translation elements (not shown), such as ball bearings or thelike, configured to move laterally along the length of the second tracks408. In another embodiment, the translation elements may be may becoupled to the second tracks 408 and the slider assemblies 412 may beconfigured to slidably interface with the second tracks 408. The motor414 may also be coupled to the slider assemblies 412 and the motor maycoordinate movement of the slider assemblies 412 along the second tracks408. As discussed, the motor 414 may coordinate movement of thesubstrate support 306 and the door 304 via the bracket 410 and theslider assemblies 412, respectively. In another embodiment, the motor414 may be coupled to the slider assemblies 412 and another motor (notshown) may be coupled to the bracket 410.

The body 302 may be disposed on a second platform 404 and the secondplatform 404 may be disposed adjacent to the first platform 402. In oneembodiment, the second platform 404 may orient the body 302 in aposition elevated from a top surface of the first platform 402. However,regardless of the orientation of the body 302 on the second platform 404and the orientation of the door 304/substrate support 306 on the firstplatform 402, the substrate support 306 and door 304 are configured tomove in a single plane. Accordingly, translation along the Z-axis may beavoided when the substrate support 306 is disposed within the body 302.As a result, the processing volume 312 may be reduced because substratepositioning along the Z-axis in the processing volume 312 isunnecessary.

By reducing the volume of the processing volume 312, the efficiency oftemperature cycling of the chamber 300 may be improved when performingphase transition processes. Moreover, design complexities of substratepositioning within the processing volume 312 may be avoided bypositioning the substrate on the support plate 430 coupled to thesubstrate support 306 prior to entry of the substrate into the body 302.In addition, the ability to move the door 304 and substrate support 306independently of one another may provide for improved throughput bycoordinating movement in an efficient manner. Still further, enablingutilization of a reduced processing volume may reduce the costsassociated with performing supercritical drying processes as a result ofreducing the amount of fluids utilized during processing.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may bedevised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scopethereof is determined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A processing chamber, comprising: a chamber body; a door comprising: a first portion; and two second portions disposed proximate to opposite ends of the first portion and extending laterally outward therefrom, wherein the door is moveably disposed on one or more first tracks extending in a horizontal direction, and wherein the door is coupled to one or more slider assemblies respectively disposed on the one or more first tracks; a liner disposed inside of the chamber body, wherein the liner and the chamber body collectively define a processing volume; a substrate support assembly comprising a substrate support having a support surface to support a single to be processed substrate disposed in a horizontal position, wherein the substrate support assembly is movably disposed on a second track in a horizontal direction to move the to be processed substrate disposed on the support surface into and out of the processing volume through a slit shaped opening formed in a wall of the chamber body, and wherein the substrate support is configured to move independently of the door; a bracket coupled to the substrate support and slidably disposed on the second track; a motor coupled to the bracket, wherein the motor coordinates movement of the bracket along the second track; and one or more insulating elements interposed between the liner and the chamber body, wherein at least one of the one or more insulating elements is disposed between a heating element of the substrate support and the chamber body when the substrate support is in the processing volume.
 2. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the liner has a thickness of 2 mm to 5 mm.
 3. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the substrate support is operable to move laterally into and out of the processing volume and the door is operable to move laterally towards and away of the chamber body.
 4. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein a distance spanning the processing volume between the liner is less than about 5 cm.
 5. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more insulation elements has a thickness between 0.1 inches and 1.0 inch.
 6. The processing chamber of claim 5, wherein at least one of the one or more insulation elements is ceramic.
 7. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the processing volume defined by the liner and the chamber body is less than 2 L.
 8. The processing chamber of claim 7, further comprising a baffle plate horizontally disposed within the processing volume and coupled to an actuator operable to move the baffle plate within the processing volume towards or away from the substrate support when the substrate support is in the processing volume.
 9. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein one or more coupling elements respectively extend from each of the two second portions of the door.
 10. The processing chamber of claim 9, wherein one or more coupling bodies are fixedly coupled to the chamber body, wherein each of the one or more coupling bodies are configured to receive a corresponding coupling element.
 11. A processing chamber, comprising: a chamber body having a slit shaped opening formed therein for ingress and egress from a processing volume defined by a liner of the chamber body; a baffle plate disposed within the processing volume and coupled to an actuator to move the baffle plate within the processing volume; a door slidably coupled to the chamber body, wherein the door is configured to translate between an open position and a closed position; a substrate support coupled to the door, wherein the substrate support is configured to translate independently of the door between a first position outside of the processing volume and a second position inside the processing volume, wherein the baffle plate is moveable independently of the substrate support, and wherein the substrate support remains in the second position during substrate processing; a bracket coupled to the substrate support and slidably disposed on a first track; and a motor coupled to the bracket, wherein the motor coordinates movement of the bracket along the first track.
 12. The processing chamber of claim 11, wherein the door comprises: a first portion; and two second portions disposed proximate to opposite ends of the first portion and extending laterally outward therefrom, wherein the door is moveably disposed on one or more second tracks extending in a horizontal direction, and wherein the door is coupled to one or more slider assemblies respectively disposed on the one or more second tracks.
 13. The processing chamber of claim 11, wherein the door is coupled to one or more second tracks.
 14. The processing chamber of claim 11, wherein the liner has a thickness of 2 mm to 5 mm.
 15. The processing chamber of claim 11, wherein the chamber body comprises an insulation element with a thickness between 0.1 inches and 1.0 inch, wherein the insulation element is positioned to insulate the liner from the chamber body.
 16. The processing chamber of claim 15, wherein the insulation element is ceramic.
 17. The processing chamber of claim 11, wherein the processing volume defined by the liner and the chamber body is less than 2 L.
 18. A processing chamber, comprising: a chamber body having a slit shaped opening formed therein for ingress and egress from a processing volume defined by a liner of the chamber body; a baffle plate disposed within the processing volume and coupled to an actuator to move the baffle plate within the processing volume, wherein the actuator is operable to selectively move the baffle plate between a processing position adjacent to a substrate support and a raised position away from the substrate support; a door slidably coupled to the chamber body, wherein the door is configured to translate between an open position and a closed position; a substrate support coupled to the door, wherein the substrate support is configured to translate independently of the door between a first position outside of the processing volume and a second position inside the processing volume, wherein the baffle plate is moveable independently of the substrate support, and wherein the substrate support remains in the second position during substrate processing; a bracket coupled to the substrate support and slidably disposed on a first track; and a motor coupled to the bracket, wherein the motor coordinates movement of the bracket along the first track.
 19. The processing chamber of claim 18, further comprising a pressure closure operable to urge the door against the chamber body.
 20. The processing chamber of claim 19, wherein the pressure closure comprises an actuator. 